Primary finding
Probable cause
Failure of the right main landing gear leg due to the improper major repair performed on the gear leg by some unknown maintenance person(s).
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
During the landing roll at a remote site the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing dragged the ground. Examination revealed that the right main landing gear leg, part number 250 040 451 1, failed at the upper weld. Further examination revealed an undocumented previous repair at the failed area. It was found that the gear leg metal had been improperly heat treated following that repair.
Source record
Factual narrative
On August 15, 1993, at 1230 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Helio H 295 airplane, N42DC, operated by Wright Air Service, Inc., of Fairbanks, Alaska, experienced a collapsed main landing gear and dragged a wing while landing at a remote hunting strip near Mount Deborah, Alaska, and about 40 miles southwest of Delta Junction, Alaska. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The positioning flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed another nearby remote strip at about 1200. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a company VFR flight plan was filed. The pilot stated that during the landing roll the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing hit the ground. -